The Seven Sisters are seven mighty chalk cliffs on the coastline between Eastbourne and Seaford that form a very popular walking route.
I walked it a while ago. I did cheat a bit as I walked from Eastbourne to Belle Tout, stayed the night in the Belle Tout Lighthouse and then walked from there to Seaford. Walking it in one go is doable and depending on your pace it should take between 4 and 6 hours. There are also a few shortcuts you can take.
I’m always trying and see and do more things outside London, but the actual travel to and from often puts me off. I can’t always be bothered to take a bus and a tube to get to King’s Cross or Paddington and then start an even longer trip. But when I learned Rochester is only 50 minutes away from my nearest train station I figured it might be interesting for a day trip to explore the castle, walk through the historical city centre and check out locations that were featured in the books of Charles Dickens.
Rochester Castle is 800 years old and while it might not be as impressive as the previous castle I visited, it was interesting to see a fort completely stripped back to stone walls, arches and steps, letting your imagination run wild thinking about how things must have been. Head to the top for some wide-reaching views of Rochester and the surrounding area, and see if you can spot where you’ll be heading next.
Across the street you’ll find the second oldest cathedral in England – Rochester Cathedral, which you can visit for free and enjoy its grand mix of Romanesque and Gothic architecture styles. And if you’re lucky you might find a brilliant local food market if you visit on a Saturday.
With the two main attractions crossed of my list it was time to walk the cobbled high street packed with independent, vintage and charity shops housed in beautiful old buildings. Most of them scream #prettyshopfronts or #ihavethisthingwithshops.
After the cold castle and cathedral, I needed somewhere to warm up and ended up at Deaf Cat Coffee. I was feeling like a sandwich or toastie to go with my coffee and this seemed like the place to go. Sadly the sandwiches looked like pre-prepared and the cakes and cookies not inviting at all.
I must have walked the main street three or four times and kept seeing new places like Baggins Book Bazaar – England’s largest second-hand bookshop and the Guildhall.
The idea was to have a sandwich around 11 and then go to Tiny Tim’s Of Rochester for a cream tea. But as Tiny’s Tims was fulled booked up we ended up having that sandwich at The Quills.
Next on the agenda was spotting some buildings featured within the pages of Charles Dickens’ works. My favourite was Eastgate House, which was a boarding school in Dickens’ time, and was featured as school for young ladies in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and The Pickwick Papers. When I visited I really enjoyed looking at all the Christmas decorations through the ages. There are sections dedicated to Dickens, the girl’s boarding school and the people who lived there afterwards.
Restoration House, which was used in Dickens’ novel Great Expectations as the home of Estella and Miss Havisham was my next destination. Sadly it was closed when I was there, if you are going during winter season it might be good to check the opening times as I was interested in the Six Poor Traveller House and Upnor Castle, but they had weird opening hours for the winter season.
How to get there?
Rochester is a short train ride (40-45 minutes) from either St. Pancras International or Victoria train stations in London. From Rochester station it’s a few minutes walk to the historic town centre.
Under the guise of seeing more of what the UK has to offer I ended up on an eye-wateringly early 7 AM train to Leeds with a mini itinerary and about 9 hours to explore the city. To me, Leeds was just the place in the north that the Keiser Chiefs, Mel B, and Malcolm McDowell came from, so I was curious to see what it was all about. Here’s what I got up to.
Arcades & Alleyways
Fun fact, if you get into the city at 9 AM on a Saturday, nothing much is open. Which makes it the perfect time to grab a cup of coffee/tea from one of your favourite chains and explore the hidden arcades and alleys before they get swamped with shoppers. How amazing are these ceilings?
Blue Rinse Vintage
I should have read up on Leeds’ vintage stores before I set off as they were everywhere and I do love a good vintage find. I only went into Blue Rinse to see what the fuss was all about and have to say that their corduroy offering did not disappoint.
Leeds Kirkgate Market
This market is full to bursting with fresh fruit and veg, delicious street food and all things arts and crafts. It’s also the founding location of Marks & Spencer which opened a stall there in 1884! I just loved walking around the gorgeous building and seeing the city come to life with everyone setting up.
Corn Exchange
The Corn Exchange is something I saw on TV and always imagined it as a huge mall type of thing, but it’s actually a much smaller space that houses independent shops on the upper section and food places on the ground floor. Don’t leave without marvelling at its magnificent ceiling.
Royal Armouries Museum
Here I was complaining about the lack of armours in castles … well looks like they are all on display in Leeds at the Royal Armouries Museum. Along with historic weaponry from various eras and parts of the world. The museum also features outdoor jousting tournaments, ghost hunts and if you want to blow off some steam – a crossbow range.
Leeds Art Gallery + The Henry Moore Institute
The Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute house fine collections of contemporary art pieces and sculptures that will keep you busy for at least 1 hour. I’m a huge fan of both, but if you’re not into it go here for the Instagrammable coffee shop and photo wall.
Parkinson Building Library
The University of Leeds’ (not to be confused with the nearby rival Beckett University!) main building is a nice piece of art deco architecture and the library/reading room looks like something out of Harry Potter. Especially since my uni only had five desks that were never free. For more Potter, head further into the campus to see university’s Great Hall, which screams Hogwarts.
Woodhouse Moor & Hyde Park Corner Cinema
I mentioned here before that I wanted to go to Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds ever since seeing a picture of its external ticket booth. There was sadly no time to go and see The Wife – so I’m saving that for another time. Keep an eye out for activities in the nearby Woodhouse Moor – I was lucky enough to catch a quidditch practice session in action, with the hoops and everything.
Kirkstall Abbey
No trip to Leeds is complete without a visit to Kirkstall Abbey. About 20 minutes outside the city centre, you’ll find yourselves a world away at the complex that used to be the home to an old Cistercian monastery. These days it’s an adventure playground for kids, dogs and photographers, plus it hosts a food market on some weekends. Despite the crowds, it’s easy to find a little corner to hide away and get whisked back a few hundred years.
Abbey House Museum
Across the street from the Abbey you’ll find the Abbey House Museum, which I wanted to skip as it I thought it would just give background info on the abbey. But it’s actually set up as a Victorian high street, with shops, a bar and chemist. The upstairs floor does feature the history of Kirkstall Abbey, as well as a section on childhood. I was so happy I did end up going as it’s actually one of my favourite types of museums: dusty, clustered and too many things on display.
Leeds is a great place for a short trip, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it in just one day – I only just managed it due to a custom-made itinerary from a local and good walking weather. Instead, make a weekend trip out of it and perhaps combine with nearby Manchester?
